United States Senate Passes FY 2014 Omnibus Spending Bill

01/16/2014

A $1.1 trillion spending bill cleared Congress after it passed in the Senate by a final vote of 72-26. It will now go to the White House for President Barack Obama’s signature and averts any threat of a government shutdown through September 30.

Included in the Omnibus was an increase of nearly $8 million dollars for the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) bringing the program's funding to $11.2 million from $3.5 million which only allowed 18 states to participate. To design effective suicide prevention strategies, we must first have complete, accurate and timely information about deaths by suicide. NVDRS provides this information, which is essential to improve state and federal suicide prevention activities.

AFSP applauds the United State Congress for approving additional funding for NVDRS and thanks the White House for including additional dollars for the program in its 2014 budget.